Generating instant messaging contacts for customer relationship management systems

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method, computer program product, and computing system is provided for the interaction between a CRM system and a instant messaging system. According to an implementation, a computer-implemented method may include identifying, by one or more processors, one or more individuals associated with an opportunity included within a CRM system. The method may also include creating, by the one or more processors, an instant message buddy list group associated with the opportunity. The method may also include populating, by the one or more processors, the instant message buddy list group with at least a portion of the one or more individuals.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and method forsocial customer relationship management and instant messaging.

BACKGROUND

When an enterprise, such as a company or an organization interacts withcustomers, a customer relationship management (CRM) system may beutilized to maintain these interactions. A CRM system may allow anenterprise to make better and quicker business decisions whileorganizing customer activities and marketing efforts. Customeropportunities may be created within the CRM system in order to continueto manage the relationship with the customer. In some situations aseparate system may be utilized in conjunction with a CRM system inorder to continue to manage and track customer opportunities.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

According to an implementation, a computer-implemented method mayinclude identifying, by one or more processors, one or more individualsassociated with an opportunity included within a CRM system. The methodmay also include creating, by the one or more processors, an instantmessage buddy list group associated with the opportunity. The method mayalso include populating, by the one or more processors, the instantmessage buddy list group with at least a portion of the one or moreindividuals.

One or more of the following features may be included. The method mayfurther include propagating the instant message buddy list group to atleast one of the one or more individuals. Propagating the instantmessage buddy list group may be based on one or more rules. The methodmay further include identifying a change to the one or more individualsassociated with the opportunity. The method may also include updatingthe instant message buddy list group based on the change. Updating theinstant message buddy list group may include removing an individual fromthe instant message buddy list group. Updating the instant message buddylist group may include adding an individual to the instant message buddylist group. The method may further include propagating the updatedinstant message buddy list group to at least one of the one or moreindividuals.

According to another implementation, a computer program product mayinclude a computer readable medium having a plurality of instructionsstored thereon. When executed by a processor, the instructions may causethe processor to perform operations including identifying one or moreindividuals associated with an opportunity included within a CRM system.Instructions may be included for creating an instant message buddy listgroup associated with the opportunity. Instructions may be included forpopulating the instant message buddy list group with at least a portionof the one or more individuals.

One or more of the following features may be included. The computerprogram product may further include instructions for propagating theinstant message buddy list group to at least one of the one or moreindividuals. Propagating the instant message buddy list group may bebased on one or more rules. The computer program product may furtherinclude instructions for identifying a change to the one or moreindividuals associated with the opportunity, and updating the instantmessage buddy list group based on the change. Updating the instantmessage buddy list group may include removing an individual from theinstant message buddy list group. Updating the instant message buddylist group may include adding and individual to the instant messagebuddy list group. The computer program product may further includeinstructions for propagating the updated instant message buddy listgroup to at least one of the one or more individuals.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a computing system mayinclude one or more processor devices and one or more memoryarchitectures coupled with the one or more processor devices. The one ormore processor devices may be configured to identify one or moreindividuals associated with an opportunity included within a CRM system.The one or more processor devices may also be configured to create aninstant message buddy list group associated with the opportunity. Theone or more processor devices may also be configured to populate theinstant message buddy list group with at least a portion of the one ormore individuals.

One or more of the following features may be included. The one or moreprocessor devices may be configured to propagate the instant messagebuddy list group to at least one of the one or more individuals. The oneor more processor devices may be configured to identify a change to theone or more individuals associated with the opportunity. The one or moreprocessor devices may be configured to update the instant message buddylist group based on the change. Updating the instant message buddy listgroup may include removing an individual from the instant message buddylist group. Updating the instant message buddy list group may includeadding an individual to the instant message buddy list group. The one ormore processor devices may be configured to propagating the updatedinstant message buddy list group to at least one of the one or moreindividuals.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a distributed computing networkincluding a computing device that executes a CIM process according to animplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the CIM process of FIG. 1, according to animplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of an example CIM process ofFIG. 1, according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an example CIM process ofFIG. 1, according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an example CIM process ofFIG. 1, according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of an example CIM process ofFIG. 1, according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic representation of an example CIM process ofFIG. 1, according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the computing device of FIG. 1,according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A CRM system may be considered a model for managing a company'sinteractions with current and potential future customers and/or businesspartners, or the like. Such a CRM system may involve using technology toorganize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service,and technical support information, activities, and the like. A CRMsystem may facilitate sales, marketing and service or support-basedfunctions whose purpose may be to move the customer through a pipelinewith the goal of keeping the customer coming back for repeat business,and/or generate business from potential customers. In some instances, itmay be desirable to utilize a CRM system to keep track of thesecustomers (e.g., existing customers, potential future customers,business partners, or the like) in the form of opportunities. Anopportunity may be potential for new or additional sales, interactions,services, leads that may be exploited, or the like with respect to acustomer included within the CRM system. A CRM system may be basedaround data and information that companies may collect about theircustomers, potential customers, business partners, or the like. Forexample, all the data and information may be entered into a CRM system.Consequently, the CRM system may allow a company to better targetvarious customers based on that data and information.

Social CRM systems may coordinate with social media sites, such asTwitter®, LinkedIn®, Facebook® and Google Plus® to track and communicatewith customers who share opinions and experiences about their company,products and services. The strategy may be based around customerengagement and interactions, with transactions being a byproduct. SocialCRM system may be considered an evolved form of the traditional CRMsystem. In some instances, it may be desirable to have a back-endprocess and system for managing customer relationships and data in anefficient and process-centric way. Although, social CRM system may havedifferent form depending on the organization, the purpose may be tounderstand the business challenge that is facing an organization andproviding a possible solution. For example, social CRM systems may playa role in developing a social or collaborative business, both internallyand externally.

In an embodiment, information within a CRM system (e.g. Sugar, Siebel)may be leveraged to facilitate instant message communications betweenindividuals who may be commonly associated with and/or engaged in anopportunity that is maintained, managed, and/or documented within theCRM system. For example, various opportunity level relationships(contacts) may be inferred for the opportunities within the CRM system.A group of individuals associated with one or more opportunities may becreated in the form of instant message buddy list group. The instantmessage buddy list group formed around, or based on, an opportunitywithin a CRM system may be propagated to at least some of theindividuals associated with one or more opportunities.

An individual, such as a user of the CRM system, may be provided with aninstant message buddy list that reflects the opportunities that theindividual is part of, for example, in the form of groups of individualsassociated with different opportunities. An individual may be providedwith a number of these groups within his instant message buddy list(e.g., depending upon how many opportunities the individual isassociated with), which may be included in the individual's instantmessage buddy list along with other contacts such business contacts,friend contacts and family contacts.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a CRM for instant messaging (CIM)process 10. For the following discussion, it is intended to beunderstood that CIM process 10 may be implemented in a variety of ways.For example, CIM process 10 may be implemented as a server-side process,a client-side process, or a hybrid server-side/client-side process.

For example, CIM process 10 may be implemented as a purely server-sideprocess via CIM process 10 s. Alternatively, CIM process 10 may beimplemented as a purely client-side process via one or more ofclient-side application 10 c 1, client-side application 10 c 2,client-side application 10 c 3, and client-side application 10 c 4.Alternatively still, CIM process 10 may be implemented as aserver-side/client-side process via screen CIM process 10 s incombination with one or more of client-side application 10 c 1,client-side application 10 c 2, client-side application 10 c 3, andclient-side application 10 c 4. In such an example, at least a portionof the functionality of CIM process 10 may be performed by CIM process10 s and at least a portion of the functionality of CIM process 10 maybe performed by one or more of client-side application 10 c 1, 10 c 2,10 c 3, and 10 c 3.

Accordingly, CIM process 10 as used in this disclosure may include anyone, or combination of, CIM process 10 s, client-side application 10 c1, client-side application 10 c 2, client-side application 10 c 3, andclient-side application 10 c 4.

Referring also to FIG. 2, and as will be discussed in greater detailbelow, CIM process 10 may identify 100 one or more individualsassociated with an opportunity included within a CRM system. CIM process10 may also create 102 an instant message buddy list group associatedwith the opportunity. CIM process 10 may also populate 104 the instantmessage buddy list group with at least a portion of the one or moreindividuals.

CIM process 10 s may be a server application and may reside on and maybe executed by computing device 12, which may be connected to network 14(e.g., the Internet or a local area network). Examples of computingdevice 12 may include, but are not limited to: a personal computer, aserver computer, a series of server computers, a mini computer, amainframe computer, or a dedicated network device.

The instruction sets and subroutines of CIM process 10 s, which may bestored on storage device 16 coupled to computing device 12, may beexecuted by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memoryarchitectures (not shown) included within computing device 12. Examplesof storage device 16 may include but are not limited to: a hard diskdrive; a tape drive; an optical drive; a RAID device; an NAS device, aStorage Area Network, a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory(ROM); and all forms of flash memory storage devices.

Network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g.,network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: alocal area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.

Examples of client-side applications 10 c 1, 10 c 2, 10 c 3, 10 c 4 mayinclude but are not limited to a client-side CRM application, aclient-side instant message application, a web browser or a specializedapplication (e.g., an application running on a mobile platform).Examples of a client-side CRM application may include a clientapplication for accessing and/or interacting with a CRM system such asSugar or Siebel, or the like. (Sugar is a trademark of SugarCRM Inc. inthe United States, other countries, or both; Siebel is a trademark ofOracle Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.) Theinstruction sets and subroutines of client-side application 10 c 1, 10 c2, 10 c 3, 10 c 4, which may be stored on storage devices 20, 22, 24, 26(respectively) coupled to client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34(respectively), may be executed by one or more processors (not shown)and one or more memory architectures (not shown) incorporated intoclient electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 (respectively). Examples ofstorage devices 20, 22, 24, 26 may include but are not limited to: harddisk drives; tape drives; optical drives; RAID devices; random accessmemories (RAM); read-only memories (ROM), and all forms of flash memorystorage devices.

Examples of client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 may include, butare not limited to, personal computer 28, laptop computer 30, mobilecomputing device 32, notebook computer 34, a netbook computer (notshown), a server computer (not shown), a gaming console (not shown), adata-enabled television console (not shown), and a dedicated networkdevice (not shown). Client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 may eachexecute an operating system.

Users 36, 38, 40, 42 may access CIM process 10 directly through network14 or through secondary network 18. Further, screen capture process 10may be accessed through secondary network 18 via link line 44.

The various client electronic devices (e.g., client electronic devices28, 30, 32, 34) may be directly or indirectly coupled to network 14 (ornetwork 18). For example, personal computer 28 is shown directly coupledto network 14. Further, laptop computer 30 is shown wirelessly coupledto network 14 via wireless communication channels 46 established betweenlaptop computer 30 and wireless access point (WAP) 48. Similarly, mobilecomputing device 32 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 14 viawireless communication channel 50 established between mobile computingdevice 32 and cellular network/bridge 52, which is shown directlycoupled to network 14. WAP 48 may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a,802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth device that iscapable of establishing wireless communication channel 46 between laptopcomputer 30 and WAP 48. Additionally, personal computer 34 is showndirectly coupled to network 18 via a hardwired network connection.

In some embodiments, CIM process 10 may communicate with, interact with,and/or included within a CRM system (e.g., CRM system 54), examples ofwhich may include, but are not limited to, Sugar and Siebel. As isgenerally known, a CRM system (e.g., CRM system 54) may generallyidentify, manage and track customer information. As used herein, theterm customer may include a current customer, a potential or futurecustomer, a business partner, or the like. Changes to customerinformation may also be tracked within a CRM system. Various leads,contacts and opportunities (e.g., including but not limited to ongoingrelationships, potentials for new or additional sales, interactions,services, leads that may be exploited, or the like) related to customerinformation may be identified, tracked and managed in a CRM system. Assuch, CRM system 54 may document and identify, track and manage customerinformation. Any changes to customer information that take place overtime may be documented using CRM system 54. Other information, inaddition to customer information, may also be documented or tracked by,or using, CRM system 54. In an embodiment, the data associated with,generated by, and/or collected by a CRM system may be stored, e.g., onstorage device 16 associated with server computer 12, which executes CRMsystem, and/or another suitable storage device.

In some embodiments, CIM process 10 may communicate with, interact withand/or include a component or module of an instant messaging system(e.g., IM system 56). IM system 56 may generally allow transmission of avariety of messages from one user to one or more other users. Instantmessaging is a form of communication that offers an instantaneoustransmission of text-based messages over the Internet. Features offeredby many instant messaging systems may include voice or video calling,video chat, inclusion of hyperlinks to media, ability to multicastcommunications to multiple recipients. Instant messaging may be possiblebetween individuals and/or groups that reside in the same generallocation (e.g., a single corporate office) and/or individuals and/orgroups that reside in different locations and/or form part of differentIM communities.

In an embodiment, users may access CRM system 54, which may include aCRM server application (e.g., to identify, manage and track customerinformation such as opportunities) and/or IM system 56, which mayinclude an IM server application (e.g., to send instant messagecommunications to other users, manage instant message contact lists,user profiles, etc.) using suitable client side applications, such asspecific CRM client side applications, IM client side applications,generic applications such as web browsers (e.g., which may allowweb-access to CRM server application and/or IM server application), orcombinations of specific client side applications and generic clientapplications.

As generally discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, CIM process 10may identify 100 one or more individuals associated with an opportunityincluded within a CRM system. CIM process 10 may also create 102 aninstant message buddy list group associated with the opportunity. CIMprocess 10 may also populate 104 the instant message buddy list groupwith at least a portion of the one or more individuals.

For example, CIM process 10 may identify 100 one or more individualsassociated with an opportunity included within a CRM system. Forexample, CIM process 10, and/or another process or application, mayinteract with a CRM system (e.g., CRM system 54) and identifyopportunities within the CRM system that are associated with specificindividuals or users. As explained above, a CRM system may maintaininformation regarding a number of opportunities that are related toongoing and/or past customer interactions, as well as potential andfuture customer interactions and communications, business ventures, andthe like. Opportunities may be associated with one or more individuals.The users associated may include individuals who are involved in thecustomer relationship and/or the potential future relationship. Forexample, in the case of an opportunity including a past and/or ongoingcustomer, various individuals may have been involved in the relationshipwith the customer, e.g., in a sales capacity, service capacity, atechnical support capacity, managerial capacity, and/or otherwiseinteracted with the customer or otherwise facilitated the businessinteraction with the customer. Similarly, for an opportunityrepresenting a potential future relationship with a customer, usersassociated with the opportunity may include individuals who areindicated as having a contact relationship with the customer, who are ina sales and/or support position for products or services that may bepitched to the potential customer, and/or who have other skills orinformation that has been identified as being useful for exploiting thepotential customer. The individuals associated with the opportunity maybe explicitly identified in information and/or records associated withthe opportunity. Further, in some situations, the individuals associatedwith the opportunity may be implicitly identified, e.g., based oncommunications or correspondence that may be associated with theopportunity in the CRM system. Further, users may belong to anenterprise that generated the opportunity or users may belong to anenterprise that was not involved in generating the opportunity (e.g.,but may otherwise provide resources that may be useful for movingforward with the opportunity, such as outside technical support, etc.).For example, an enterprise may have created a list of opportunitieswithin a CRM system that it wishes to share with another enterprise,and/or involve another enterprise in moving forward with theopportunity. In that scenario, the users from the other enterprise maynot belong to the enterprise that created these opportunities.

In an embodiment, CIM process 10 may determine that an opportunity(e.g., opportunity 1) has one or more users associated with thatopportunity (e.g., users 36, 38 and 40), for example, based on recordsand/or information associated with the opportunity that are maintainedby the CRM system. CIM process 10, along and/or in conjunction withanother process or application, may identify 100 users associated withcertain opportunities. CIM process 10 may interact with a CRM system(e.g., CRM system 54) to access information regarding the opportunity toidentify 100 one or more individuals associated with the opportunity.For example, and referring also to FIG. 3, multiple individuals (e.g.,user 36, user 38, user 40, Tom, Susan, Rob, Katie, and Jennifer) may beassociated with an opportunity (e.g., opportunity 1). As generallydiscussed above, the various individuals may be associated withopportunity 1 in various capacities and/or for various reasons, and theassociation of each of the individuals may be based on, at least inpart, either an explicit or an implicit connection between theindividual and opportunity 1. It is understood that the use of oneopportunity is for illustrative purposes and not a limitation.

As explained above, and referring also to FIG. 4, users may beassociated with one or more opportunity. For example, user 38 may beassociated with multiple opportunities (e.g., opportunity 1, opportunity2 and opportunity 3) included in the CRM system. CIM process 10 mayidentify 100 a user (e.g., user 38) as associated with threeopportunities (e.g., opportunity 1, opportunity 2 and opportunity 3). Inaddition to user 38, there may be other users associated with theseopportunities. For example, CIM process 10 may identify 100 users 36, 38and 40 to be associated with opportunity 1, users 38, 40, 42, 402 and404 associated with opportunity 2, and users 38, 40, 404 and 406associated with opportunity 3. It is understood that the above exampleis only for illustrative purposes and not a limitation.

CIM process 10 may also create 102 an instant message buddy list groupassociated with the opportunity. For example, CIM process 10 mayinteract with an IM system (e.g., IM System 56 and/or an instantmessaging client application, e.g., which may include one or more ofclient applications 10 c 1-10 c 4) in order to manage the creation ofone or more instant message lists (e.g., a buddy list). In general, aninstant message buddy list may include a list of instant messagingcontacts and screen names associated with each instant messagingcontact. An instant message buddy list group may include anorganizational tool in which one or more instant messaging contacts maybe grouped together to provide a common context to the instant messagingcontacts included within the instant message buddy list group. In someembodiments, instant messaging contacts included within the instantmessage buddy list group may be graphically connected in an instantmessage buddy list (e.g., in a common level in a tree structure, in afolder, via sequential listing, or the like). Such a graphicalconnection may facilitate understanding by a user of the instant messagebuddy list that the instant messaging contacts included in the instantmessage buddy list group may be contextually related. In variousembodiments, buddy lists for an instant messaging user may be maintainedon server side IM system (e.g., IM system 56) and/or may be maintainedon a client side IM application. The server-side IM system and theclient-side IM application communicate at regular or determinedintervals in order to maintain an up-to-date buddy list associated withthe instant messaging user.

Continuing with the above-stated example, CIM process 10 may create 102an instant message buddy list group associated with the opportunity 1.For example, and referring to FIG. 5, CIM process 10 may create aninstant message buddy list group 500 for opportunity 1. Buddy list group500 may be created 102 within a buddy list (e.g., buddy list 502)associated with a user (e.g., user 36). While in the illustratedembodiment, buddy list group 500 is shown created 102 within buddy list502 of a particular user (e.g., user 36), in other embodiments, this isfor illustrative purposes only. In some embodiments, CIM process 10 maycreate 102 an instant message buddy list group within instant messagingsystem 56 in general, which may not be associated with a particularuser. In such an embodiment, the instant message buddy list group maybe, for example, maintained within a master contact list, e.g., whichmay include a listing of all users of instant messaging system 56.Additionally, in some embodiments CIM process 10 may create 102 theinstant message buddy list group in response to, e.g., receiving arequest to create 102 the instant message buddy list from a user (e.g.,which request may be received via CRM system 54, IM system 56, and/orvia another system, application, or process). In some embodiments, CIMprocess 10 may create 102 the instant message buddy list group, e.g., inresponse to identifying 100 one or more individuals associated with anopportunity included within CRM system 54, and/or may otherwise create102 the instant message buddy list group.

CIM process 10 may also populate 104 the instant message buddy listgroup with at least a portion of the one or more individuals. Forexample, and as also shown in FIG. 5, CIM process 10 may populate 104the buddy list group 500 for opportunity 1 with one or more users (e.g.,users 36, 38 and 40, Tom, Susan, Rob, and Katie). As explained above,instant message buddy list group 500 may be created 102 based on, atleast in part, the one or more individuals identified 100 as beingassociated with an opportunity (e.g., opportunity 1). In someembodiments, instant message buddy list group 500 may be populated 104with all users associated with opportunity 1 or may contain a subset ofthe users associated with opportunity 1. For example, although Jennifermay be identified 100 by CIM process 10 as a user associated withopportunity 1, there may be reasons not include Jennifer in instantmessage buddy list group 500. For example, one or more rules may bedefined (e.g., by a user, an administrator, default setting, or thelike) for populating 104 the instant message buddy list group. As aconsequence, although CIM process 10 may identify 100 that Jennifer isassociated with opportunity 1, CIM process 10 may populate 104 theinstant message buddy list group for opportunity 1 with users 36, 38 40,Tom, Susan, Rob, and Katie. It is understood that the above are onlyexamples of buddy list groups and other groups may be utilized.

In some embodiments, an instant messaging screen name associated witheach of the individuals populating the instant message buddy list groupmay be included within information and/or records associated with theopportunity within the CRM system. In such a situation, CIM process 10may be capable of extracting the instant messaging screen name for theone or more individuals from the CRM records or information and maypopulate 104 the instant message buddy list group with the extractedinstant messaging screen names. In some embodiments, CIM process 10 mayotherwise obtain instant messaging screen names for at least a portionof the one or more individuals populating 104 the instant message buddylist group. For example, in some situations, an instant messaging screenname associated with one or more of the individuals may not be includedwithin the information and/or records included within the CRM system. Insome embodiments, CIM process 10 may obtain an instant messaging screenname for an individual, e.g., by accessing one or more other sources.Accessing the one or more other sources may include, for example,transmitting a request to such other sources, executing a search queryagainst such other sources, or the like. Examples of other sources fromwhich CIM process 10 may obtain instant messaging screen names for oneor more of the individuals may include, an IM system (e.g., IM system56, which may include a master directory of all users of IM system 56),an organizational directory (e.g., an LDAP directory), or other suitablesource. CIM process 10 may otherwise obtain information for populating104 the instant message buddy list group.

CIM process 10 may further propagate 106 the instant message buddy listgroup to at least one of the one or more individuals. For example,instant message buddy list group 500 may be populated with a number ofusers (e.g., user 36, 38, 40, Tom Susan Rob, and Katie). Referring alsoto FIG. 6, instant message buddy list group 500 may be propagated 106 toat least one of the one or more individuals identified 100 as beingassociated with the opportunity. In some embodiments, the at least oneof the one or more individuals may also be users of IM system 56 and/orCRM system 54. Propagating 106 instant message buddy list group 500 tothe one or more other users may include, for example, sending instantmessage buddy list group 500 to the other users (i.e., sending theinstant message buddy list group to a computing device associated witheach intended recipient user). Upon receipt of instant message buddylist group 500, each of the receiving users may, for example, importinstant message buddy list group 500 into an instant message buddy listof the user. In some embodiments, CIM process 10 and/or another processor application (e.g., an instant messaging client application) mayautomatically import instant message buddy list group 500 into aninstant message buddy list of the user.

In some embodiments. CIM process 10 may propagate 106 instant messagebuddy list group 500 to the at least one of the one or more individualsincluding associating instant message buddy list group 500 with the atleast one individual via IM system 56. For example, instant messagebuddy list group 500 may be associated with an instant message buddylist maintained on IM system 56 for each user to which instant messagebuddy list group 500 is propagated 106. In some embodiments, users mayaccess instant message buddy list group 500 (e.g., for the purpose ofengaging in an instant messaging communication with one or more usersincluded within instant message buddy list group 500) via IM system 56(and/or via another application, such as a client instant messagingapplication, a web browser, etc.). In some embodiments, IM system 56 maypush instant message buddy list group 500 down to each respective user(i.e., to a computing device associated with each respective user) towhom instant message buddy list group 500 was propagated 106. In somesuch embodiments, a client instant messaging application may importinstant message buddy list group 500 into an instant message buddy listfor each respective user (e.g., as a result of an instant message buddylist synchronization operation performed by one or more of IM system 56,an instant messaging client application, and/or CIM process 10).

In some embodiments, the instant message buddy list group may bepropagated 106 to each of the individuals identified 100 as beingassociated with the opportunity (e.g., user 36, user 38, user 40, Tom,Susan, Rob, Katie, and Jennifer for opportunity 1). In some embodiments,CIM process 10 may propagate 106 the instant message buddy list group(e.g., instant message buddy list group 500) to one or more users thatare were not identified 100 as being associated with the opportunity.For example, the instant message buddy list group may be propagated 106to an employee who is not associated with a particular opportunity, forexample, as part of a company strategy to include additional individualsin already established and/or developing projects. For example asalesperson may be a new hire that has never been associated with anopportunity. In some embodiments, CIM process 10 process may propagate106 the instant message buddy list group associated with the opportunityto the newly hired salesperson. In another example, CIM process 10 maypropagate 106 the instant message buddy list group to a specific team inthe organization (e.g., sustaining) for opportunities that haveexpressed complaints. It will be understood that the above is only anexample and other conditions may trigger the propagation of the instantmessage buddy list group to users not associated with an opportunity. Inaddition/as an alternative to including individuals in addition to theone or more individuals identified 100 as being associated with theopportunity, in some embodiments CIM process 10 may propagate 106 theinstant message buddy list group to less than all of the individualsidentified 100 as being associated with the opportunity. For example, asshown in FIG. 6, CIM process may propagate 106 instant message buddylist group 500 to user 38, user 40, Tom and Susan. As such, instantmessage buddy list group 500 may not be propagated 106 to Rob and Katie,who were also identified 100 as being associated with opportunity 1.While in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 6, instant message buddylist group 500 is shown as being propagated 106 from user 36 (i.e., fromcomputing device 28 operated by user 36, for example via clientapplication 10 c 1), this is for illustrative purposes only. Asdiscussed above, in some embodiments, CIM process 10 may propagate 106the instant message buddy list group, e.g., form CIM process 10 s, fromCRM system 54, from IM system 56, and/or from another application orprocess.

Consistent with the foregoing, in an embodiment, propagating 106 theinstant message buddy list group may be based on one or more rules. Forexample, the CIM process 10 process may evaluate a set of rules definedby the system (i.e., CRM system 54 and/or IM system 54, and/or definedwithin CIM process 10) and/or defined by users or by an administrator ofthe system (i.e., CRM system 54, IM system 54, and/or CIM process 10)before propagating 106 the instant message buddy list group. Examples ofrules that may be defined for propagating 106 the instant message buddylist group may be based on, but not limited to, a certain team or groupwithin the organization; seniority, age group, job title and skilllevel. For example, a rule may be defined for a group of managers withinan organization that receive all instant message buddy list groupsbelonging to opportunities that deal with sales transactions dealingwith customers with income above a certain level. Another example may befor a rule that may be defined for certain salespersons that are withina certain age group that may receive an instant message buddy list groupfor opportunities that deal with same age group customers. It will beunderstood that above are only examples and not limitations, otherexample of rules may be envisioned.

As explained above and referring to FIG. 4, users may be associated withone or more opportunities, which may result in multiple instant messagebuddy list groups reflected in users' respective buddy lists. Forexample, CIM process 10 may identify 100 a user (e.g., user 40) as beingassociated with three opportunities (e.g., opportunity 1, opportunity 2and opportunity 3). In addition to user 40, there may be other usersassociated with each of these opportunities. CIM process 10 may create102 three instant message buddy list groups corresponding to the threeopportunities (e.g., opportunity 1, opportunity 2 and opportunity 3)respectively. CIM process 10 may populate 104 each of the three instantmessage buddy list groups with at least a portion of the individualsidentified 100 as being associated with each respective opportunity. CIMprocess 10 may propagate 106 each respective instant message buddy listgroup to at least a portion of the one or more individuals that areassociated with each of the opportunities (e.g., opportunity 1,opportunity 2 and opportunity 3).

It should be noted that an instant messaging buddy list group for aparticular user may not necessarily contain the user's own contactinformation. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, instant message buddy listgroup 500 included within instant message buddy list 502 belonging touser 36 is shown including user 36. In some embodiments, a user may notbe included within an instant message buddy list group for thatparticular user. For example, in the case of instant message buddy list502 associated with user 36, the contact information (e.g., screen name)for user 36 may not necessarily be included. As such, the instantmessage buddy list group may be customized for each individual to whomthe instant message buddy list group is propagated 106. Otherconfigurations may be equally utilized.

Consistent with the foregoing, one or more of the individuals associatedwith an opportunity that is included within a CRM system may be providedwith an instant message buddy list group that may include instantmessaging contact information (e.g., screen name) for one or more otherindividuals who are also associated with the opportunity. As such,instant messaging contact may be facilitated between the individuals whoare associated with the opportunity. Facilitating instant messagingcommunications between individuals associated with an opportunity mayimprove interaction and collaboration amongst the individuals. Suchimproved interaction and collaboration may improve the ability of theindividuals to take advantage of the opportunity, and the like.

In some embodiments, a first individual associated with the opportunitymay not even need to specifically know the identity of the otherindividuals associated with the opportunity. For example, the firstindividual may simply access the instant message buddy list group forthe opportunity, which may present the first user with the identity ofone or more other individuals who are also associated with theopportunity. Presenting the first individual with such a list of theother individuals associated with the opportunity may facilitate thefirst individual determining a desired individual to contact, as well asfacilitating instant messaging contact between the individuals. In thisregard, while not shown, in some embodiments the instant message buddylist group associated with the opportunity may include information inaddition to the screen name and/or real name of the individuals includedwithin the instant message buddy list group. Such additional informationmay include, e.g., alternative contact credentials (such as emailaddress, telephone number), organizational information (e.g., title,position, department, etc.), and/or other information. In someembodiments, information in addition to the instant messaging screenname may be obtained, for example, from an organizational directory, orother suitable source, as discussed above with regard to CIM process 10populating 104 the instant message buddy list group. In addition/as analternative to facilitating individual instant messaging communicationsbetween individuals associated with the opportunity, the instant messagebuddy list group may also facilitate group-wise instant messagingcommunications between all of the individuals included within theinstant message buddy list group.

CIM process 10 may further identify 108 changes to the one or moreindividuals associated with the opportunity. For example, over time theindividuals involved with a given project, client, or the like maychange. Individuals may leave an organization, may join theorganization, may transition between departments or jobs within anorganization. As such, the individuals associated with a givenopportunity may change over time. For example, CIM process 10 may havecreated 102 an instant message buddy list group (e.g., instant messagebuddy list group 500) that may be populated 104 with individuals(e.g.,users 36, 38, 40, Tom, Susan Rob, and Katie) identified 100 as beingassociated with a certain opportunity (e.g. opportunity 1). If forexample user 38 changed positions within the organization, CIM process10 may identify 108 that a change has occurred to the users associatedwith opportunity 1 (e.g., that user 38 may no longer be associated withopportunity 1).

For example, in an embodiment, a user may initiate a change by updatingthe IM system (e.g., IM system 56) that the user is part of. Forexample, user 38 may update his or her IM status to indicate a newposition title in the organization. CIM process 10 may interact with theIM system (e.g., IM system 56) in order to identify 108 that a changehas occurred to user 38. In an embodiment, a user may initiate a changewithin a CRM system (e.g., CRM system 54). For example user 38 maychange his or her association with a certain opportunity (e.g.,opportunity 1). CIM process 10 may then identify 108 the change byinteracting with the IM system (e.g., IM system 56) and/or the CRMsystem (e.g., CRM system 54). Further, in an embodiment, CIM process 10may periodically and/or in response to an event (e.g., a change of arecord within an opportunity) identify 100 the individuals associatedwith a given opportunity. Further, upon iteratively identifying 100 theindividuals associated with the opportunity, CIM process 10 may comparethe individuals iteratively identified 100 as being associated with theopportunity to with the individuals previously (and/or originally)identified 100 as being associated with the opportunity. In response tocomparing the individuals associated with the opportunity, CIM process10 may identify 108 a change in the individuals associated with theopportunity. It will be understood that the above are only examples andnot limitations, other changes may be possible.

CIM process 10 may further update 110 the instant message buddy listgroup based on the changes. For example, having identified 108 that achange may have occurred, CIM process 10 may update 110 the instantmessage buddy list group associated with the opportunity to reflect theidentified 108 changes, for example, in the form of an updated instantmessage buddy list group associated with the opportunity. Continuingwith the above example in which user 38 has changed positions, and is nolonger associated with opportunity 1, CIM process 10 may identify 108the change to user 38 with respect to opportunity 1. According to anembodiment, CIM process 10 may update 110 the instant message buddy listgroup (e.g., instant message buddy list group 500) to reflect the changein user 38's position resulting in an updated instant message buddy listgroup (e.g., which may no longer include user 38 in an instant messagebuddy list group associated with opportunity 1).

In an embodiment, updating 110 the instant message buddy list group mayinclude removing individuals from the instant message buddy list group.For example, and continuing with the above-example, CIM process 10 mayidentify 108 that user 38 has changed positions within the organization.This change may have caused user 38 no longer be associated with theopportunity (e.g., opportunity 1). As a result of this change, user 38may not be appropriately included in the instant message buddy listgroup (e.g., instant message buddy list group 500) that was created 102associated with opportunity 1). Referring also to FIG. 7, CIM process 10may update 110 instant message buddy list group to remove user 38 frominstant message buddy list group 500 b.

As discussed above, CIM process 10 may update 110 the instant messagebuddy list group to remove a user, e.g., who may be explicitly no longerassociated with the opportunity. In some embodiments, CIM process 10 mayupdate an instant message buddy list group based on an individual'sstatus or activity. For example, CIM process 10 may determine that anindividuals engagement with the opportunity has become stale or notup-to-date. Examples of having stale engagement with the opportunity mayinclude, but not limited to, the individual not logging in the CRMsystem for some time, the individual not having had activities relatedto the opportunity, or the individual having been flagged by CIM process10 as no longer associated with an opportunity. For example, CIM process10 may have determined that user 40 has not logged in to the CRM systemfor a certain period of time. In an embodiment, CIM process 10 mayupdate 110 the instant message buddy list group to mark user 40 as beingstale. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, updating 110 instant messagebuddy list group 500 b to reflect user 40 becoming stale may includegreying-out user 40 within an instant message buddy list group 500 b. Insome embodiments, if user 40 becomes increasingly stale (e.g., user 40'slack of engagement with the opportunity continues) for a defined periodof time after becoming greyed-out, CIM process 10 may further update 110instant message buddy list group 500 b to remove user 40 from instantmessage buddy list group 500 b associated with opportunity 1.

In an embodiment, updating 110 the instant message buddy list group mayinclude adding individuals to the instant message buddy list group. Forexample, CIM process 10 may determine that an individual (e.g. Steve)has joined a specific team within an organization. The team mayindividuals who are associated with a certain opportunity (e.g.,opportunity 1) and belonging to an instant message buddy list group(e.g., group 350). This addition of Steve to the team may have causedSteve to be associated with opportunity 1. As a result of this addition,CIM may identify 108 a change to an individual associated withopportunity 1, namely the new association of Steve with opportunity 1.Further, and as shown in FIG. 7, CIM process 10 may update 110 theinstant message buddy list group to include Steve within instant messagebuddy list group 500 b. According to various embodiments, CIM process 10may identify 108 the change to an individual associated with theopportunity in a variety of manners. For example, CIM process 10 mayiteratively identify 100 individuals associated with the opportunity(e.g., on a periodic basis; in response to a trigger such as a userrequest to identify individuals associated with the opportunity, anindication of activity with respect to the opportunity, etc.), CIMprocess 10 may receive an explicit indication of a change to anindividual associated with the opportunity (e.g., from a user of the CRMsystem and/or from the IM system), and/or may otherwise identify 108 achange to an individual associated with the opportunity.

In an embodiment, updating 110 the instant message buddy list group maybe done autonomously, e.g., without a user's involvement. For example,CIM process 10 may detect 108 a change in an individual's information,and/or association with the opportunity, e.g., through interactions witha CRM system (e.g., CRM system 54) and/or and IM system (e.g., IM system56) or any other system that may reflect the user's information change,and CIM process 10 may automatically update 110 the instant messagebuddy list group in response to the change. In such an embodiment, asusers are removed and added to opportunities the instant message buddylist group associated with the opportunities may be updated 110 by CIMprocess 10.

In some embodiments, CIM process 10 may provide one or more alertstransmitted to one or more users of the CRM system. For example, alertsmay be in response to the CIM process 10 identifying 108 changes to theone or more individuals associated with the opportunity, and/or tochanging 110 an instant message buddy list group and/or to propagating104 of an instant message buddy list group or an updated 110 instantmessage buddy list group. The one or more alerts may be generated andtransmitted to users (e.g., all or a portion of the individualsassociated with the opportunity and/or all or a portion of theindividuals included within the instant message buddy list groupassociated with the opportunity) based on default preferences, userpreferences, or system preferences. The preferences may be establishedby system administrators or by the users of a CRM system or an IMsystem. Examples of preferences may be, but not limited to, frequency ofthe alerts, whether an alert should be sent and received, periodicintervals, information within the alert, identity of users and groups toreceive the alerts. It will be understood that the above are onlyexamples of alert preferences and not limitations, other examples may beimplemented.

In an embodiment, the CIM process 10 may cause the updated instantmessage buddy list group to replace the original instant message buddylist group and/or may cause the updated instant message buddy list groupto be maintained as separate instant message buddy list group. Forexample, if CIM process 10 may identify 108 a change in an individualassociated with the opportunity, CIM process 10 may update 110 theinstant message buddy list group based on these changes, in which theupdated instant message buddy list group may be created as a new versionof the original instant message buddy list group and/or may replace theoriginal instant message buddy list group. Maintaining version controlmay allow, for example, a system administrator to analyze whatinformation has changed. It will be understood that the above is only anexample and other possibilities for maintaining the update instantmessage buddy list group may be possible.

In an embodiment, CIM process 10 may allow an IM system (e.g., IM system56 or an IM client side application) to pull information related tousers of an instant message buddy list group or an updated instantmessage buddy list group from a CRM system (e.g. CRM system 54 or aclient side CRM system). In an another embodiment, CIM process 10 maypermit a CRM system (e.g., CRM system 54 or a client side CRM system) topush information related to users of an instant message buddy list groupor an updated instant message buddy list group to an IM system (e.g., IMsystem 56 or an IM client side application). CIM process 10 may permitthe pushing or pulling of user information based on default preferences,user preferences, or system preferences. CIM process 10 may permit thesepreferences may be established by system administrator or by users ofthe CRM system. Examples of preferences may be, but not limited to,frequency of the pushing and pulling, amount of user information topushed or pulled and the type of user information to be pulled orpushed. For example, the user data may be mined nightly, weekly, monthlyor any appropriate interval. It will be understood that the above areonly examples of alert preferences and not limitations, other examplesmay be implemented.

CIM process 10 may further propagate 112 the updated 110 instant messagebuddy list group to at least one of the one or more individuals. Forexample, as a result of identifying 108 a change to one or moreindividuals associated with an opportunity, CIM process 10 may update110 an instant message buddy list group, which may result in an updatedinstant message buddy list group (e.g., updated instant message buddylist group 500 b shown in FIG. 7). The updated instant message buddylist group may be propagated 112 to at least one of the users that havebeen originally identified 100 by CIM process 10 to be associated with acertain opportunity (e.g., opportunity 1), and/or added to the instantmessage buddy list group by the update 110. Updated 110 instant messagebuddy list group 500 b may be propagated to at least one of the one ormore individuals associated with the opportunity in a manner generallysimilar to propagating 106 the instant message buddy list groupdescribed with respect to FIG. 6.

Referring also to FIG. 8, there is shown a diagrammatic view ofcomputing system 12. While computing system 12 is shown in this figure,this is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be alimitation of this disclosure, as other configuration are possible. Forexample, any computing device capable of executing, in whole or in part,CIM process 10 may be substituted for computing device 12 within FIG. 8,examples of which may include but are not limited to client electronicdevices 28, 30, 32, 34.

Computing system 12 may include microprocessor 802 configured to e.g.,process data and execute instructions/code for screen capture process10. Microprocessor 802 may be coupled to storage device 16. As discussedabove, examples of storage device 16 may include but are not limited to:a hard disk drive; a tape drive; an optical drive; a RAID device; an NASdevice, a Storage Area Network, a random access memory (RAM); aread-only memory (ROM); and all forms of flash memory storage devices.IO controller 804 may be configured to couple Microprocessor 802 withvarious devices, such as keyboard 806, mouse 808, USB ports (not shown),and printer ports (not shown). Display adaptor 810 may be configured tocouple display 812 (e.g., a CRT or LCD monitor) with microprocessor 802,while network adapter 814 (e.g., an Ethernet adapter) may be configuredto couple Microprocessor 802 to network 14 (e.g., the Internet or alocal area network).

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosuremay be embodied as a method (e.g., executing in whole or in part oncomputing device 12), a system (e.g., computing device 12), or acomputer program product (e.g., encoded within storage device 16).Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program producton a computer-usable storage medium (e.g., storage device 16) havingcomputer-usable program code embodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium (e.g., storagedevice 16) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium may include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media such as thosesupporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may also be paper oranother suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as theprogram can be electronically captured, via, for instance, opticalscanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, orotherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then storedin a computer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usableor computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with thecomputer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband oras part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may betransmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited tothe Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentdisclosure may be written in an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, C#.NET, PHP, C++ or the like. However, the computerprogram code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure mayalso be written in conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. Theprogram code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on theuser's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through a local area network/a widearea network/the Internet (e.g., network 14).

The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor (e.g., processor 802) of a general purposecomputer/special purpose computer/other programmable data processingapparatus (e.g., computing device 12), such that the instructions, whichexecute via the processor (e.g., processor 802) of the computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, create means for implementingthe functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory (e.g., storage device 16) that may direct acomputer (e.g., computing device 12) or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that theinstructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an articleof manufacture including instruction means which implement thefunction/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer(e.g., computing device 12) or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementingthe functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures may illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application indetail and by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent thatmodifications and variations are possible without departing from thescope of the disclosure defined in the appended claims.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A computer program product comprising a computerreadable medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon,which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to performoperations including: identifying one or more individuals associatedwith an opportunity included within a CRM system; creating an instantmessage buddy list group associated with the opportunity; and populatingthe instant message buddy list group with at least a portion of the oneor more individuals.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, furtherincluding propagating the instant message buddy list group to at leastone of the one or more individuals.
 10. The computer program product ofclaim 9, wherein propagating the instant message buddy list group isbased on one or more rules.
 11. The computer program product of claim 8,further including: identifying a change to the one or more individualsassociated with the opportunity, and updating the instant message buddylist group based on the change.
 12. The computer program product ofclaim 11, wherein updating the instant message buddy list group includesremoving an individual from the instant message buddy list group. 13.The computer program product of claim 11, wherein updating the instantmessage buddy list group includes adding an individual to the instantmessage buddy list group.
 14. The computer program product of claim 11,further including propagating the updated instant message buddy listgroup to at least one of the one or more individuals.
 15. A computingsystem comprising: one or more processor devices; and one or more memoryarchitectures coupled with the one or more processor devices; whereinthe one or more processor devices are configured to: identify one ormore individuals associated with an opportunity included within a CRMsystem; create an instant message buddy list group associated with theopportunity; and populate the instant message buddy list group with atleast a portion of the one or more individuals.
 16. The computer systemof claim 15, wherein the one or more processor devices are furtherconfigured to: propagate the instant message buddy list group to atleast one of the one or more individuals.
 17. The computer system ofclaim 15, wherein the one or more processor devices are furtherconfigured to: identify a change to the one or more individualsassociated with the opportunity, and update the instant message buddylist group based on the change.
 18. The computer system of claim 17,wherein updating the instant message buddy list group includes removingan individual from the instant message buddy list group.
 19. Thecomputer system of claim 17, wherein updating the instant message buddylist group includes adding an individual to the instant message buddylist group.
 20. The computer system of claim 17, further includingpropagating the updated instant message buddy list group to at least oneof the one or more individuals.